Renault may have revolutionized the electric car
Tesla is still the champion of storage, with car battery packs starting at 60 kwh. The big deal with Renault however is that the battery is relatively small, plugs into the exact same place as the old battery and does twice as much for practically the same price. And in addition to that, Renault's battery gives a relatively cheap car the same range as a Tesla.
Because the cost of the battery in an electric car is so high, Renault decided to not include the battery with the car when purchased. Instead, the battery is leased after purchase of the car it goes in. This then means that all people have to do to get twice the range is let the lease expire on the old battery, and then lease the new one. It fits. It has a 250 plus mile range. That's a breakthrough for a low budget electric.
Tesla sales are brisk in the luxury segment
I got onto this topic because when the government in Denmark pulled the subsidies for Tesla, sales dropped by over 90 percent. So I figured it was doom for the electric car. But reality is far from that. Denmark only had high Tesla sales because a 180 percent import tax that is applied to all gasoline vehicles was not applied to the Tesla, which made it ridiculously cheap compared to competing gasoline cars. Obviously if that kind of tax is suddenly put on Tesla, which is an expensive car anyway, it will instantly jump out of everyone's reach overnight. That's not Teslas fault.
Right now, with Tesla, the average subsidy in the U.S. is only around $5, 000 dollars. Removing that subsidy won't affect the sales of a $65, 000 car, especially when under some conditions it is the fastest thing on the road. Tesla has earned a rightful place in the luxury segment. So it cannot be said that subsidies are, at this time, keeping the electric car alive.
Back to the new battery that Renault just came up with -
The battery, which is leased, goes into the Zoe electric car. The old batteries that are still good (all of them are still good, there were not problems with them) are likely to be returned and replaced with the new. Renault is not going to throw away the old batteries, instead Renault plans to put 100, 000 of the old batteries into a electric storage facility. There is no guarantee they will get 100, 000 back, but when the new battery with twice the range only costs $13 more per month, what do you think people are going to do? I'd sure take twice the range for $13 a month.
Where the cost is in cars
LG developed the battery tech in Renault's battery. Panasonic developed the battery tech in Tesla's battery. Right now, LG is ahead by leaps and bounds. I would not expect the people at Panasonic to sit on their hands after being beaten so solidly, with those two companies at war with each other I'd expect battery tech to move ahead very quickly.
There is lots of speculation about who will enter the electric car race, with Volkswagen and manufacturers from China hitting the top of the list. This report is going on what is happening now, with cars already on the road. Right now, we have Renault with a cheap car that can match the range of Tesla with a 306 kilogram battery, at 250 miles. Tesla, with the less efficient battery packs, is making up for it very well by having battery packs that weigh 1, 600 kilograms. With that much of a weight advantage, obviously they hold more power. But that's not a revolution. Let's wait for the counter punch.
